Meditations Monday: Back to School

Dear Lord; Happy Meditations Monday Father!

To begin our week’s conversations Lord, I first want to give You thanks for the Blessings You granted me this past weekend.  Although a busy couple days to be sure, I was Blessed to spend them in the company of family and friends.  I regularly find myself overwhelmed by the gifts You bring to my life, and thank You for Your continued Presence.  I am indeed Blessed.

Well Father, this Wednesday marks the return to classes for Jonathan and Aidan.  And while they’re a little disappointed that the freedoms of summer are waning, they’re both very excited to dive into a new school year’s “education adventure”.  With that thought in mind, I decided to focus this week’s Meditations Monday Scripture selections on what Your Word has to say about the advancement of knowledge:

…That the path of learning is important to both our head, and our heart:

The heart of the discerning acquires knowledge,
for the ears of the wise seek it out. – Proverbs 18:15 (NIV)

…That putting our children on the proper path will help guide their future:

Start children off on the way they should go,
and even when they are old they will not turn from it. – Proverbs 22:6 (NIV)

…That wisdom, understanding and knowledge work together to make our lives fuller:

By wisdom a house is built,
and through understanding it is established;

through knowledge its rooms are filled
with rare and beautiful treasures. – Proverbs 24:3-4 (NIV)

Heavenly Father, as our children begin another year’s schooling, please keep Your watchful gaze upon them.  Please help them not only to absorb what they’re taught, but to apply that knowledge towards fulfilling Your desires for their lives.  Open their minds and their hearts, and fill them with that thirst for wisdom that only You can instill.  Lead them Teacher, that they may grow both in this earthly realm, and in Your Kingdom as well.

In Jesus’ Name we pray,

Amen.

~Phather Phil

Our Spiritual Surge Suppressor

Dear Lord; Happy Friday Father!

Wow Lord… What a hectic day it’s been!  As I’m sure You’re aware, we had some violent thunderstorms roll through here last night which always causes a “surge” (pun intended) in business the next day.  In this instance, one of my clients took a spike which routed through their network wiring, killing off five machines and several pieces of infrastructure hardware… Not a pretty picture.  As I was surveying and extracting the damaged equipment for repair this morning, it got me thinking that sin works very much like that surge…

Once we allow sin to enter our lives, it runs rampant, corrupting and damaging everything else it can.

Now, in this client’s case there was very little they could have done to prevent this particular hit from doing damage; we’re very much the same way with regards to sin.  While as Christians, we try to avoid sin wherever we can, we’re certainly not always successful.  It’s a constant battle in our souls Father; the pull of our corrupted, sinful natures versus the righteousness of Your Spirit within us.  Thankfully, with Jesus Christ as our “Spiritual Surge Suppressor”, we have the protection we need to arrest sin’s progress in us so we can best operate as You intend.

Heavenly Father, as we go into the weekend we thank You for all the Blessings You’ve surrounded us with this week.  I pray that for all of life’s “surges” that present themselves, we remember to place our trust in the One that can see us through the storms safely.

In Jesus’ Name we pray,

Amen.

~Phather Phil

Thankful Thursday: The Right Perspective

Dear Lord; Happy Thankful Thursday Father!

You know Father, as I’ve mentioned before I really LOVE Thankful Thursday posts.  While I try to give thanks each day for the abundance of Blessings You grace me with, having a weekly post that leads me to recollect all the little things that bring a smile to my heart puts me in exactly the right perspective:

Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. – 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (NIV)

I ran across a blog posting today at stevenfurtick.com that said it beautifully:

“With God, ‘thank you’ should always come before ‘please.’ The first thing that needs to come out of my mouth in prayer and worship needs to be praise for who God is and what He has done. Not just instructions for what I want or even need Him to do.”

So true.

Therefore Father, with that perspective firmly embedded in my heart, this week I’ve been thankful for:

196. A silly, giggly, tasty dinner with Shannon and the kids at a new Mexican Restaurant.

197. Getting some “one-on-one” time with Aidan while Jonathan was away at Kay’s Kamp.

198. For a sweet Bloggy Friend who reminded me to look at flowering weeds as flowers, and not weeds (Thank you Jean!).

199. Cool, clear mornings which let me leave my windows down in the truck on the way to work.

200. A fun night out with my lovely Wife last Friday night.

201. Getting the opportunity to attend “Media Day” at Kay’s Kamp, and seeing the Blessed work they do for the children.

202. Inspiring testimonies from courageous people.

203. Getting well over 50,000 miles on my truck tires before having to replace them.

204. Free lifetime map and software updates available for my GPS.

205. Finding new school uniform clothing for the boys at Goodwill dirt cheap.

206. Jonathan having another wonderful week away at Kay’s Kamp.

207. Having inexpensive generic versions available for the medications we take.

208. Tootsie Fruit Rolls.

209. My portable digital voice recorder that allows me to note things I’m thankful for at the time they come to me.

210. Waking up next to the lady I love each and every day.

Heavenly Father, once again I thank You for all the Blessings You grace our lives with each day; both those that shine brilliantly with Your Light, and those that Bless us quietly, without fanfare.  I pray that You will continue to open my eyes wider to Your gifts, that I may appreciate them to the full.

In Jesus’ Name we pray,

Amen.

~Phather Phil

Not One Mistake

Dear Lord; Happy Wednesday Father!

While doing some Internet research today Lord, I came across a poem that I’d like to share.

I finally got a chance to finish reading “90 Minutes in Heaven” by Rev. Don Piper last night.  And while I found it an inspiring, hope-filled story, Reverend Piper’s account left me with far more questions than answers.  What I did take away from it however, was a reminder that we’re not meant to understand why some things happen; that’s where our Faith comes in.  You’re the One with the “Big Picture” Father, so in Your capable, loving hands is where we need to lay our trust.

And with that thought running through my mind Lord, when I found this poem today it just begged to be shared.  It’s entitled “He Maketh No Mistake”, and was written by A.M. Overton:

My Father’s way may twist and turn,
My heart may throb and ache,
But in my soul I’m glad to know,
He maketh no mistake.

My cherished plans may go astray,
My hopes may fade away,
But I’ll trust my Lord to lead
For He doth know the way.

Tho’ night be dark, and it may seem
That day will never break,
I’ll pin my faith, my all in Him,
He maketh no mistake.

There’s so much now I cannot see,
My eyesight’s far too dim;
But come what may, I’ll simply trust
And leave it all to Him.

For by and by the mist will lift
And plain it all He’ll make,
Through all the way, tho’ dark to me
He made not one mistake.

Amen.

~Phather Phil

Do Unto Others…

Dear Lord; Happy Tuesday Father!

First off Father, I want to raise Kim Miller up in prayer to You once again.  Her powerful testimony in the video I linked to in yesterday’s post has very much been in my thoughts, and continues to inspire further introspection of my own Faith.  Lord, please grant Kim Your peace, Your comfort and if it be Your Will, Your healing that she may continue to know Your abundant presence in her life.

Today Father, I’d like to discuss manners and courtesy, or more specifically the lack of them I’ve been seeing as of late.

During a quick trip at lunchtime over to the nearby WalMart, I was confronted a number of times with blatant examples of selfishness, disrespect and a general disinterest in the feelings of others.  Simple little things like:

In a busy parking lot, taking up two full spaces to avoid being parked next to…

People not looking behind them when going through a door to see if someone is following close by before letting it swing closed…

Shoppers standing in the middle of a narrow aisle chatting while people and carts sit behind them waiting for them to move…

Parents allowing their young children to run around unsupervised and then getting upset when other people question them…

Leaving shopping carts rolling all over the parking lot when there are plenty of cart return stations nearby…

It’s very frustrating to witness such widespread disregard Father.  And while I certainly ran into several smiling, courteous folks today as well, they were somehow less obvious than those whose focus was very much on themselves.  Now, I’ve absolutely been guilty of allowing my mood to sidetrack my manners now and again Lord… I believe we all have.  This begs the question; how would You have us act towards others so as to best reflect Your Love?

With forgiveness and compassion:

“Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” – Ephesians 4:32 (NIV)

With thought and empathy:

“Do to others as you would have them do to you.” – Luke 6:31 (NIV)

In the spirit of peace and unity:

“Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification.” – Romans 14:19 (NIV)

With humility:

“For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” – Luke 14:11 (NIV)

And with Love:

“For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”” – Galatians 5:14 (NIV)

It’s so handy having Your Instruction Manual Father.  🙂

Heavenly Father, please help guide our words and actions to best exemplify the behavior that You desire of us.  Make Your light visible through our lives, so that others may witness the peace and compassion of Your presence in us.

In Jesus’ Name we pray,

Amen.

~Phather Phil